About WCAG
AODA and WCAG
For those in Ontario who want to understand how WCAG 2.0 is related to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), this is a brief discussion of how it applies. The AODA legislation outlines a gradual roll-out, initially adopting WCAG 2.0 Level A and working toward Level AA web content accessibility requirements with the exception of two success criteria.
These two exceptions are:
- Success Criteria 1.2.4 Captions Live (Level AA)
- Success Criteria 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) (Level AA)
Suggested Reading: Review Section 14(3) of the Integrated Accessibility Standards of the AODA for details on the above exceptions.
Though the rest of WCAG 2.0 is adopted verbatim, obligated organizations in the province (except the Ontario government that has until January 1, 2020) are not required to provide captions for live events or audio description for prerecorded video. Both of these are Level AA success criteria in WCAG 2.0. Depending on where you are in the world, other jurisdictions will often require these success criteria be met.
There are no plans currently to adopt WCAG 2.1 as the basis for web accessibility in AODA, though AODA is currently going through one of its periodic reviews. Whether WCAG 2.1 will be adopted as the new basis for web accessibility remains to be seen.
Key Point: Input on the current AODA review was due October 1, 2018.